Ubuntu 12.10 has been released, sporting the rather... Interesting tagline 'Avoid the pain of Windows 8'. Two main features are that websites can now be treated as actual applications, integrating them into Unity. The divide between local and online content when searching has also been softened, which, they claim, makes it easier to find what you're looking for. On the server side, it includes the Folsom release of OpenStack, "Cinder, for block storage and Quantum, a virtual networking API. Ubuntu's Metal-as-a-Service bare-metal provisioning tool has been updated and now supports Calxeda hyperscale hardware based on ARM".

It depends on the generation of the GPU though. My desktop's PCIe HD 6570 runs much faster and smoother with the closed driver than the open one, and it's stable as well. It installs easily on both Slackware and Kubuntu. On the other hand, the computer's onboard X1150 GPU only works with the legacy open Radeon driver, and isn't too stable at that.